


No Accounting for Taste

by Kariachi



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Ben 10 Reboot (2016), Future Fic, M/M, Teen Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kariachi/pseuds/Kariachi
Summary: The teen years tend to bring along certain revelations. They also tend to bring suffering for certain redheads who deserve a higher allowance.
Relationships: Kevin Levin/Ben Tennyson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	No Accounting for Taste

“Gwen, I’m having a crisis.” This was nothing new. Ben had been having crises since they were five, and at triple the rate in the four years since he’d gotten the Omnitrix. At this point Gwen knew there was nothing for it but to put aside her tablet, watch her cousin dramatically collapse across his cot, and try to curb any impending disasters.

“What is it this time,” she sighed. The book was good and she really would prefer to be reading it.

“Have you considered,” Ben replied, “that Kevin might be hot.”

What?

Well, yes, actually, she had, back when they were twelve. Ben knew this, because he’d spent that entire month alternating between teasing her and being disgusted that anyone, especially his cousin, could find Kevin attractive. And it _had_ only been a month, lasting only until he got involved in one of the Tennysons’ burping contests and won off pure artistic skill by doing the entire first verse of Jabberwocky in one long burp. Ben had been impressed, while Gwen had been busy realizing that there were limits to her love and she could not live with a man who could and would do that. She could hardly live with knowing one _existed_.

But then Ben already knew all this.

“Kevin,” she said instead, “is greasy, foul-tempered, and once locked you in a cupboard for dog-earing one of his books.”

“Yes, _but_ ,” Ben countered, “he is still _amazingly_ handsome.” Gwen could not bring herself to picture Kevin as she’d last seen him, only a few weeks ago- lanky, pimple-covered, greasy, and in clothes so ill-fitting it was almost impressive- and think of him as hot. Margot Robbie was hot. Ryan, still, incredibly hot (and going off to college this fall, be still her teenage heart). But Kevin? She wracked her brain for some sort’ve explanation besides the obvious ‘they had another fight and Ben got hit _really hard_ ’. It took her a couple moments of ignoring Ben rambling nonsense (god, did she sound like this back then? No wonder he’d teased her) before she came up with something.

Since they were twelve Ben had had a consistent, if slow, rate of growth. He’d always been small, or at least short, and the more the years passed the clearer it became that he was going to stay that way, with no real relief. Gwen, since eleven, had mostly had even growth with the occasional spurt thrown in to keep her ahead of Ben. Kevin on the other hand, seemed to only have growth spurts. The first one had happened at the end of that first summer and ever since he’d suddenly shoot up several inches a couple of times a year. And he was probably about due one…

“Ben,” Gwen said, reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder, “think for a minute. Is he attractive? Or is he just _tall_?” Ben went quiet, visibly considering the matter. Finally, he took a deep breath, vaguely shrugged, still semi-starstruck, and said

“He is _really tall_ …” With a sigh, Gwen patted his shoulder, then picked her tablet back up.

“Okay, we’re _totally_ buying you a pair of platform shoes or something.”


End file.
